While I'm fairly new here (at least, in terms of posting), I'm going to be doing a year end review because I'm surprised at how little my tastes match up with everyone else. I listen to very little besides Metal, so that's about all you are going to get out of my list. I'm still undecided on the top 10 albums and will likely expand it to 15 (especially since I'm getting a few more for Christmas).

With that said, I'll kick this off with the following:

Top 3 Worst/Disappointing Live Bands of 2011
Top 10 Best Live Bands of 2011
Biggest Surprises of 2011
3 Most Disappointing Albums of 2011
Top 10 (or 15) albums of 2011

Top 3 Worst/Disappointing Live Bands of 2011

I didn't see too many bad bands this year, so number 2 and 3 are disappointments for me.

3. Holy Grail

Date Seen: April 28th
Venue: Annex Wreckroom

I LOVE Holy Grail. Crisis in Utopia is one of my favourite albums in recent years, and I even saw the band last year supporting Blind Guardian. I'd say they even gave the mighty Blind Guardian stiff competition at that show, but I didn't get that feeling at this show. Maybe it's because I was partially dehydrated during their set, but I thought they weren't as energetic as last time I saw them. I also lost a lot of respect for James Paul Luna when he called the opener, Crimson Shadows, "Crimson Storm". I get that he wouldn't know the band, but you'd think he'd at least bother to learn their name if he's going to mention them (it would have been like him saying "thank you Montreal!"). With this said, I'll go see them again, because I know they can be amazing live and because their songs are great. They weren't bad, they just didn't meet my super high expectations.

2. Deicide

Date Seen: February 25th
Venue: The Opera House

There are three main reasons I didn't enjoy this band (even though I love them). Firstly, at the time, I wasn't really that familiar with their material. I only had three albums, and they hardly play anything from Legion anyways. This is something I know won't be a problem next time. Second, the sound was awful. It started out sounding good, but then the bass drums got way too high into the mix and everything became a blur. Finally, my brother took me to this restaurant beforehand which made me pretty sick, and we ended up skipping the encore. Ultimately, I know I'll enjoy Deicide next time, but I'd say that this show just wasn't that much fun.

1. Billy Talent

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff282/spiner202/DSC01931.jpg

Date Seen: July 24th
Venue: Downsview Park

Say what you will about Billy Talent, but it's not my kind of music. They were at Heavy TO and the only reason I saw them was because my brother wanted to. I'll admit that they are decent at what they do, but can you seriously expect them to look good when they have to follow Slayer? I did enjoy watching this one roadie stare down people who threw things on stage, but besides that, I was about ready to go home after two long days of Metal. Hopefully Heavy TO doesn't book another band like this for next year.

Tomorrow I'll start doing 2 bands a day for the best live bands of the year.

larvtard

12-20-2011, 01:11 PM

Billy Talent <3

:lovedup::lovedup:

Epidemic Reign

12-20-2011, 01:24 PM

While I'm fairly new here (at least, in terms of posting), I'm going to be doing a year end review because I'm surprised at how little my tastes match up with everyone else.

There are several people here who feel that way, myself included :D

idrinkwine732

12-20-2011, 01:52 PM

There are several people here who feel that way, myself included :D

You have over 1500 posts...?

brutal_descent

12-20-2011, 01:55 PM

You have over 1500 posts...?

No, he feels the same about how little his taste matches up with other users' tastes.

Epidemic Reign

12-20-2011, 02:16 PM

No, he feels the same about how little his taste matches up with other users' tastes.

Yeah, I guess I could have bolded that ;)

Spiner202

12-21-2011, 07:02 AM

Top 10 Best Live Bands of 2011

After going to only 2 concerts in 2010, I sort of forgot just how much fun they really are. I only made it out to 8 this year, but I saw plenty of great bands. It's pretty hard to rank some of them, but here we go:

10. Blackguard

Dates Seen: February 25th (Deicide), April 27th (Symphony X), September 4th (Kamelot)
Venues: The Opera House (x2), The Mod Club

I know that everyone here hates this band, but I think they are great live. I wasn't really familiar with their work before the Deicide show, but they were a great change of pace from the other bands. I didn't go to the other two shows for Blackguard, but they were definitely a bonus. I'm not as fond of them on record, but they are worth seeing live (though I imagine it would get boring if they were at every single show I was at).

9. Borealis

Date Seen: April 27th (Symphony X)
Venue: The Opera House

I might be the biggest fanboy of this band. It was my 4th time seeing them, and the first time since 2009. I think this was their CD release party, except that they didn't have the CDs yet, so Sean Werlick (keyboards) was taking pre-orders. They only got 5 songs, but all of them were from the new album and they were all great. I wish I could have seen them on the Saxon tour because I know I'd enjoy it more if I knew the songs. If you like any kind of Power or Progressive Metal, make sure to go see Borealis live and buy their new album, "Fall From Grace".

You guys seem pretty split over Anvil, but I love them. Lips always looks like he's having a great time, and Robbo is an absolute beast on drums. I'd put them higher, but I've seen them 4 times and they've never played more than 8 songs. And even between those sets, I've seen maybe 10 different songs. Go see them, but I don't recommend seeing them as often as I did this year :P

7. Crimson Shadows

Date Seen: April 28th (Cauldron/Holy Grail)
Venue: Annex Wreckroom

This is my other favourite "local" band. I consider them Dragonforce with harsh vocals, and they even opened for Dragonforce in October. In this sense, they are the perfect live band: their songs are totally catchy and fun to sing along to, but heavy enough to get some pits going. They played this show without a bassist, but that didn't really affect the performance. Much like Borealis, this show would have been better if I recognized more of the songs. Their new album finally came out around September though, so I'm pretty excited to see them again.

Spiner202

12-24-2011, 05:36 AM

6. Motorhead

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff282/spiner202/DSC01787.jpg

Date Seen: July 23rd (Heavy TO)
Venue: Downsview Park

Is there anything more epic than hearing "We are Motorhead, and we play rock'n'roll"? How about hearing them play "Overkill" with tons of rain pounding down on everyone? This was my first time seeing Motorhead and they killed it. It was nowhere near as loud as I expected (which is a good thing) and the setlist was pretty strong. These guys outperform bands half their age. I'm sure everyone here has seen them, but GO if you haven't!

5. Alestorm

Date Seen: September 4th (Kamelot)
Venue: The Mod Club

Alestorm is by far one of the most fun bands in existence. Their albums are great, but their live show was even better. "Nancy The Tavern Wench" was definitely the highlight. I'd love to see this band do a headlining set because their were a ton more songs I wanted to hear (even though the songs they picked were great too).

4. Cauldron

Date Seen: April 28th (w/Holy Grail)
Venue: Annex Wreckroom

I'm not sure why, but something about this performance was really satisfying. I can't even explain it, but I know that I need to see them again. Maybe it was because they completely outperformed Holy Grail, or because their new album has been growing on me, but this band was great. Even though they are from Toronto, I'd never seen them before, and I've found they only play 19+ shows in Toronto. Come May, I'll be seeing them often, I hope :D

3. Alice Cooper

Dates Seen: May 14th, August 26th, December 6th
Venues: Pavillion de la Jeunesse, Erie Canal Harbor, Centre in the Square

It's no secret I'm an AC fanboy, and May 14th was my first time seeing him since 2008. Even though all three shows were on the same tour, they were all different performances. In the second show, he added "Hey Stoopid" to the setlist (which is one of my favourite songs of his, and definitely from his most underrated album), and on December 6th, Orianthi was with the band instead of Damon Johnson. I'd say the last show was my favourite just because I was in the third row and the show really comes alive at that distance. If it weren't for the fact that he just released an amazing new album, I would probably skip the next tour, but now I'm hoping I can see him next year!

Spiner202

12-26-2011, 07:38 AM

2. Anthrax

Date Seen: July 23rd (Heavy TO)
Venue: Downsview Park

Anthrax completely surprised me. I thought they'd be enjoyable, but clearly there for the paycheck. I was totally wrong and they destroyed. Joey Belladonna in particular really did a great job. He had a ton of energy and looked like he was having more fun than anyone in the crowd. It was probably also the best time to have seen the band (besides 1987) seeing as how I'm not big on their new album.

1. Slayer

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff282/spiner202/DSC01904.jpg

Date Seen: July 24th (Heavy TO)
Venue: Downsview Park

Slayer is easily the greatest band I've ever seen. Their intensity can't be matched and every song is somehow more brutal than the last. I saw everything flying up in the air during their set, including what appeared to be some professional camera equipment. During Postmortem, some chick in front of me got nailed in the head by the camera and started bleeding. Every time they started a slower song (South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss), it got louder and louder. I don't even know what else to say, except that I have to see them again soon!

Spiner202

12-27-2011, 07:44 AM

I'm cutting out the next two parts of my list (surprises and disappointments) and getting right to the list. It's been expanded to 15 albums. I will say that I either haven't listened to the following albums enough or I don't have them:

Diamond Plate - Generation Why?
Fullforce - One
Invection - Facet of Aberration (this one would certainly make the top 8)
Skull Fist - Head of the Pack
Vektor - Outer Isolation

Maybe I'm biased because I took guitar lessons from Drover for a while, but I love this album. It's a lot more interesting than your typical instrumental shred album (which I do love). It was surprising to find out that so many of these songs were covers, but I hadn't heard any of them before, so it was all new material to me.

I've been following this band since their release of "Drunker Than Thou" last year and this really just improves on it. It's pretty standard thrash, but all of the tracks are memorable and have great riffing. The Exciter cover was a bit of a dud, but the rest of the album is awesome. Full review here: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Alcoholator/Coma/317273/

This was the third Rhapsody/Rhapsody of Fire album I picked up and it's far superior to the other two I have. Unlike the others, this has more than one amazing track, and it also has a lengthy track that doesn't overstay its welcome. This is really nothing you wouldn't expect from this band, they just did it better than I've ever heard. I'm not sure where they'll go from here, but I wouldn't have minded if they went out on this album.

Recommended Tracks: From Chaos to Eternity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2bUSSn1YuI) & the epic Heroes of the Waterfalls' Kingdom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwYlObmRNCo)

hellawaits77ny

12-27-2011, 08:45 PM

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Deicide. I saw them just a few days prior and they were great. As you said in your post, I'm sure you'll enjoy them next time.

Yeah, and fuck Billy Talent. I hope those guys got booed something fierce doing their set. They must be real popular in Ontario or something, to play AFTER Slayer.

Spiner202

12-28-2011, 09:57 AM

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy Deicide. I saw them just a few days prior and they were great. As you said in your post, I'm sure you'll enjoy them next time.

Yeah, and fuck Billy Talent. I hope those guys got booed something fierce doing their set. They must be real popular in Ontario or something, to play AFTER Slayer.

Billy Talent are huge here (I thought they were huge everywhere), but I just can't see how they were slotted to play after Slayer.

If you like Speed Metal or Running Wild, you will love this album. It's somewhat under the radar, because it's essentially a one-man project with very little promotion (I only knew of it because it's done by a guy on Metal-Archives). I got it recently, so I can't say too much more about it, but the tracks will speak for themselves.

This might be the most derivative release I've ever heard, but it's awesome. Timo may have lost it in Stratovarius, but he did a good job here. I also was impressed with Andre Matos, even though he seems to struggle with a couple of high notes.

This band is great. If you put their lyrics aside, they really do Hair/Glam Metal as well as anyone (except for Skid Row, who are arguably Heavy Metal anyways). All of the songs are catchy and Satchel does a great job shredding. Despite my love for this band, the second album just isn't as well done as the first. The lyrics are a little more repetitive and even offensive at points ("That's What Girls are For"). There are also too many songs and not all of them are hit singles (like the debut could have been). Still, this album is awesome and writing a song about Tiger Woods was genius. The even better part was that they had to insult him in a second song ("If You Really Really Love Me").

After the major step back of Till Death Do Us Part, Deicide really did a great job with this one. I'd say that it's my favourite post-Serpents of the Light album (I love the first four). Glen's vocals here are much better than they were on The Stench of Redemption and the lead work is actually pretty similar with Ralph Santolla on board. The highlight is of course the final track, which might just be the best Deicide song ever.

Recommended Tracks: To Hell With God (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgoW_JSdMVk) & How Can You Call Yourself A God? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7ciM9pLxnQ&feature=related)

When I first got this album, I loved it. It was around #4 on the list, but the combination of better albums being released and some of the enjoyment from this album wearing off made it drop to #8. This is really no different from the other two Alestorm releases, but I would rank it below Captain Morgan's Revenge and above Black Sails at Midnight. Lyrically, this is probably their best release, as I found both the title track and "Scraping the Barrel" to be completely genius. Much like the other two albums in this post, if you are a fan of the band, you'll like this album, and if you aren't, it probably won't convince you.

Recommended Tracks: Back Through Time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkyo5FTR25M) & Rum (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROhsZayay-Q)

As much of a disappointment as this was, it's still Warbringer, and it still destroys. It's really not that much different from Waking Into Nightmares, but the songs just aren't as good. With the exception of "Living Weapon" and "Enemies of the State", none of these songs could have made it on the last album. Regardless, this album is brutal and everyone should buy it.

Recommended Tracks: Living Weapon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEKE-6qLDmc) & Enemies of the State (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iS5kb8OWSM)

Northern_Shaman

12-29-2011, 10:08 PM

A bit odd of you to name Deicide as one of the most disappointing live bands when you admit that it was mostly your fault (being sick & not knowing enough material).

Spiner202

12-30-2011, 05:39 AM

A bit odd of you to name Deicide as one of the most disappointing live bands when you admit that it was mostly your fault (being sick & not knowing enough material).

It was more the fact that I didn't enjoy the show. It was a disappointment because I expected it to be awesome. Not knowing the material wasn't the end of the world, it just would have made it better. Being sick and having bad sound can definitely make for a disappointing show. Especially because I was fine the day of the show.

While many were disappointed with this, I think I've reached the point where I can enjoy just about anything HammerFall does. If you actually really analyze the music, it's not that different from their previous releases. I have to mention the guitar work of Pontus Norgren as I think he's really stepped up to fill the void left by Stefan Elmgren. He's even better on this release than on No Sacrifice, No Victory. The only major negatives of the album are the confusing tracks "I Refuse" and "Redemption", which I don't really think fit in too well.

I've been waiting for this one since 2008. I'm not sure it's officially been released yet because the release party is in February (although I bought a CD copy, so maybe it has been). For anyone who has never heard this band, they are a Power/Death Metal band, but they are not Melodic Death Metal. Imagine if Corpsegrinder were singing for Dragonforce, and then there were a couple of sections with clean vocals. If you are looking for something unique in Metal, you have to check out this album, because there's literally nothing to compare it to.

Recommended Tracks: Kingdom of Ale and Journey's End http://crimsonshadows.bandcamp.com/
The full album is only streaming until tomorrow night, but you can still hear Battle Hard in full after New Years Eve.

Cauldron are yet another band that really stepped it up recently. Their first album was really enjoyable, but I prefer this one a lot more. There are a ton of guitar solos (somewhere between 1 and 3 per song) and the vocals are really melodic. As mediocre as the vocals are, they are somewhat mesmerizing and hypnotic. In fact, I've found the mid-paced songs to be a lot catchier recently. I would give this one a chance to grow on you, because I like it a lot more than when I first got it. I also have to commend them on their choice of "I Confess" as a cover. I wasn't familiar with the original, and for a while, I didn't even recognize this was a cover because it is exactly their style.

Recommended Tracks: Miss You To Death (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54BDciGEkKE) & Tears Have Come (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz36ymPEWMc)

While many were disappointed with this, I think I've reached the point where I can enjoy just about anything HammerFall does. If you actually really analyze the music, it's not that different from their previous releases. I have to mention the guitar work of Pontus Norgren as I think he's really stepped up to fill the void left by Stefan Elmgren. He's even better on this release than on No Sacrifice, No Victory. The only major negatives of the album are the confusing tracks "I Refuse" and "Redemption", which I don't really think fit in too well.

I don't think it's disappointing in the least. I honestly think it's considerably better than anything I expected from them at this point. The last 2 albums pretty much bored me to tears. Not that Hammerfall has ever been a terribly groundbreaking/unique/etc sort of band, but the songs just hadn't even been enjoyable for me for quite a while. I still don't LOVE this album, but it's better than I expected it to be.

This album had the potential to be a complete flop, and I know some people saw it that way, but I think everything really came together here. I'd rather have weird songs that are still catchy than the terrible efforts of the Eyes of Alice Cooper and Dirty Diamonds. My only concern with this album is how it will go over live. I can only see about half of these songs working live. There are just too many styles/guests/weirdness to be played live. I'll let the music speak for itself, because it's really different from any Alice Cooper album.

Recommended Tracks: I Am Made of You (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2tduSeFmMQ), Caffeine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzcb7YcZ6-E) & Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever (couldn't find a youtube video for this one)

Sometimes, artwork makes a huge difference. I picked this one up just because of the cover. I was not a fan of Stratovarius beforehand. I had Elements Part I, which sucked apart from "Eagleheart". I pop in this album and I was already convinced it was album of the year (though I bought it in February, so it was a bit early to judge). This is pretty much everything I look for in Power Metal: catchy melodies, lack of unneeded complexity (even the title track is fairly simple in its structure), soaring vocals, and shredding guitarwork (and keyboard work in this case). The only downside to this album is "Lifetime In A Moment", which is a bit too long and isn't as interesting as the other tracks. I should also mention that since buying this, I've bought 3 more Stratovarius albums (Visions, Infinite, and Polaris) and this is by far the best one. I'll keep buying them, but I don't see Stratovarius topping this near masterpiece.

Since 2008, I have been convinced that Borealis is the best kept secret of the Power Metal world. Their debut, World of Silence, ranks in my top 5 albums of all-time. That album convinced me that keyboards could work in Metal. I'd seen them live a few times since and had heard "Where We Started" and "Regeneration" live long before this album was release (2009). The anticipation literally could not have been higher, and I watched these two videos of "Where We Started" nearly every day for a long time. When I first got the album, I honestly have to admit that I didn't think it was that great. Only four tracks stood out to me (three of which had already been released before I got the album), and there's no way it was living up to World of Silence. With more listens, I've grown to love every track, but it still doesn't quite match up. The best part about this album is the improvement in the vocals, but I was disappointed at the downgrade in drumming and guitar solos. They are still great, but they were just so much better on World of Silence (see: the title track and "The Afterlife"). If I could ever stop comparing it to the debut, you'd probably realize that I do love this album. Maiden33 seems to have discovered its awesomeness, and I encourage everyone else to at least listen to a few songs.

Full Review: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Borealis/Fall_from_Grace/302331/Spiner202

Recommended Tracks: Where We Started (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGw9iPQvwag), Breaking The Curse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7JlFN8jwh4), and the 2nd best song of 2011: Forgotten Forever (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_YpCW3288)

Hopefully you enjoyed reading my list. Despite the fact that my end of the year lists have had a lot of Power/Traditional Heavy Metal in recent years, I actually do like Thrash best. I've just found that Power/Traditional done well is something that always draws me back.

SomewhereInTime72

01-02-2012, 08:53 AM

Damn number 2 for Elysium. Great album but I didn't expect it to make it *that* high on anyone's list. Props though, because it's a fantastic album.

Spiner202

01-02-2012, 11:13 AM

Damn number 2 for Elysium. Great album but I didn't expect it to make it *that* high on anyone's list. Props though, because it's a fantastic album.

I definitely wasn't expecting something that mindblowing when I bought it, but I just found every song to be extremely catchy and enjoyable. I even hate when albums break 40 minutes, but I never felt that album drag on. I just hope Stratovarius can put out something near that album next time.